The present invention relates to a locking device for a vehicle door which uses a handle bracket to reinforce the periphery of a handle mount opening formed in a door outer panel.
In general, a vehicle door, such as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 3-221681, is constituted by joining a door outer panel and a door inner panel. A door lock device is arranged therein.
The door lock device includes a handle unit having an outer handle, and a door latch unit for engaging with a striker which is fixed to a body frame such as a center pillar. The handle unit is fixed to the inner surface of the door outer panel, and the door latch unit is fixed to the door inner panel. These two units are connected to each other via a rod.
Then, the pulling of the outer handle operates the door latch unit via the rod, whereby the engagement with the striker is released to make the door openable.
When the door outer panel is deformed by a sideways minor impact, distortion occurs between the door inner panel and the door outer panel. This distortion causes a relative position change between the handle unit fixed to the door outer panel and the door latch unit fixed to the door inner panel, thereby producing a problem that the outer handle operation no longer actuate the door latch unit normally.
The following are the countermeasures taken heretofore.
1) To pass a bracket across the door inner panel and the door outer panel to maintain the relative positional relationship between the handle unit and the door latch unit.
2) To utilize a beam or beams arranged in the door inner panel to fix the handle unit and the door latch unit to each other, thereby maintaining the relative positional relationship between the units.
3) To take advantage of the strength of the vertical wall portion (arch door latch reinforcement) at the door back end to attach the handle unit and the door latch unit thereto via brackets, for the sake of maintaining the relative positions of the two units.
4) To integrate the handle unit and the door latch unit structurally.
Nevertheless, simply passing a bracket between the door inner panel and the door outer panel often fails to absorb all the assembly errors of the individual parts, thereby causing a shift in the relative positional relationship between the handle unit and the door latch unit.
Moreover, the means of fixing the two units by utilizing the beam(s) welded to the door inner panel has problems not only of limiting the beam arrangement but also of complicating the assembly of those units.
Furthermore, the means of fixing the handle unit and the door latch unit to the arch door latch reinforcement via brackets require that a large opening for mounting these units be formed in the door inner panel. This lowers the strength of the door inner panel disadvantageously.
On the other hand, the means of structurally integrating the handle unit and the door latch unit lead to specialized parts. In this case, different models of cars must be equipped with door lock devices of different specifications, which disadvantageously complicates the parts control.
In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to provide a locking device for a vehicle door which is simple in configuration, capable of sharing parts specifications, facilitated in parts control, and, in structural terms, capable of maintaining the relative positional relationship between the handle unit and the door latch unit even if the door outer panel is deformed by a sideways minor impact or the like.
To achieve the foregoing object, a first aspect of a locking device for a vehicle door according to the present invention includes handle stations arranged on both sides of a handle mount opening formed in a door outer panel, a handle unit fixed to the handle stations and for rotatably supporting an outer handle, a door latch reinforcement fixed to a door inner panel joined to the door outer panel, a door latch unit fixed to the door latch reinforcement, and a rod for connecting the handle unit and the door latch unit. Here, the door latch reinforcement is extended along the inner surface of the door outer panel to form a bracket station. A handle bracket is interposed between the door latch unit and the door outer panel. The handle bracket is fixed at one end to the bracket station, and at both edges of the other end to the handle stations along with the handle unit.
In such a configuration, the handle unit is connected via the handle bracket to the door latch reinforcement which undergoes little deformation even if the door outer panel of the door is deformed by a sideways minor impact or the like. Therefore, the relative positions of the handle unit and the door latch unit fixed to the door latch reinforcement can be maintained even after the deformation of the door outer panel.
A second aspect of a locking device for a vehicle door according to the present invention in the locking device according to the first aspect is characterized in that a latching part for temporarily fixing the handle bracket to the handle stations is formed on the handle bracket.
In such a configuration, the handle bracket is provided with the latching parts. Therefore, at the occasion of assembly, these latch parts can temporarily fix the handle bracket to the handle stations for improved assembly efficiency.
A third aspect of a locking device for a vehicle door according to the present invention in the locking device according to the first or second aspect is characterized in that the handle bracket has a long hole formed at a portion coming into contact with the bracket station, and the handle bracket is fastened to the bracket station via the long hole.
In such a configuration, since the long hole is formed in the handle bracket at a portion coming into contact with the bracket station and the handle bracket is fastened to the bracket station via the long hole, this long hole absorbs the assembly errors in the relative positional relationship between the handle bracket and the bracket station.
A fourth aspect of a locking device for a vehicle door according to the present invention in the locking device according to the third aspect is characterized in that the locking device has a bolt inserted through the long hole and projected from the bracket station toward the door inner panel, and the door latch reinforcement has a latch mount opening in a position where an end of the bolt faces.
In such a configuration, when the handle bracket is put into contact with the bracket station, the bolt projected from the bracket station is inserted through the long hole formed in this handle bracket for alignment. Then, a nut is screwed and fastened onto this bolt through the latch mount opening formed in the door latch reinforcement.